Citizenship

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Citizenship can be described as a relationship between an individual and a state in which the individual owes allegiance to the state and in turn is entitled to its protection. In general, full political rights are predicated on citizenship . Citizenship entails obligations, usually including allegiance, payment of taxes, and military service. The concept arose in ancient Greece , where citizenship was granted only to property owners. The Romans initially used it as a privilege to be conferred upon or withheld from conquered peoples, but it was granted to all the empire's free inhabitants in AD 212. The concept disappeared in Europe during the feudal era but was revived in the Renaissance. Citizenship may normally be gained by birth within a certain territory, descent from a parent who is a citizen, or marriage to a citizen (http://www.britannica.com/).

The challenges of citizenship arise from the phenomenon of globalization and the intensity in which it affects the world. The term is a political concept that has been in constant struggle and renegotiation (Shklar, p. 1). Citizenship has been assumed to be a national enterprise and it has been an institution or a set of social practices situated squarely and necessarily within the political community of the nation-state (Bosniak, p. 237). Richard Falk explains that the:

Two principal tendencies that reshape our understanding of citizenship in the globalization period are a multilayered and flexible sense of secondary membership and participation in nonstate political and economic communities of varying scope and a vague but significant association of citizenship and loyalty with entities lacking territorial boundaries and not qualifying for membership in standard international institutions, most notably the UN (Falk, p. 173).

Citizenship is said to be increasingly denationalized, with new forms of citizenship that exceed the nation developing to replace the old. The new forms of citizenship have been described by their exponents in a variety of terms. Some have spoken of the emergence of transnational citizenship or global citizenship (Bosniak, p. 238). The ways in which citizenship is emerging in the era of globalization raises conflicting interests with the traditional notion of citizenship and the predominance of universal personhood over national status undermines the national order of citizenship (Torres, p. 371).

According to Cogan and Derricott (2000), modern political systems successful functioning depends on a conception of citizenship. This conception of citizenship can be constructed through an explicit bill of rights, constitution, or other similar documents, it can be implicitly stated within national traditions or institutions, or it can be a combination of the two. Cogan and Derricott argue that any conception of citizenship contains a sense of the knowledge, skills, values and dispositions that, ideally, citizens should possess and created an outline of the five attributes of citizenship that they admit to being contestable (p. 2-5) in which I use examples from other texts to illustrate these arguments:

A Sense of Identity

A sense of national identity and patriotism is usually seen as an essential ingredient of citizenship. National citizenship can be seen as obsolete and global cosmopolitan citizenship is argued to cut across national loyalties (Nussbaum, 1996). Even more so, it is argued that the demands of national citizenship should not be denied, but must be combined with a realization that no nation can operate in isolation in today's world, so that citizenship must contain both national and multinational dimensions.

To problematize the notion of national identity and patriotism being key components of citizenship, Richard Falk uses an example of individuals obligated to religious affiliations before their nation, who is freed from duties of obedience to the state of residence or citizenship. This rejection of a nationalist approach to membership in a community, and indirectly to citizenship, also represents a flattening of identity and obligation, but in the direction of religious and civilizational identity, and away from territorially based identity (p. 177). The U.S. war against 'terrorism' is an example of a lack of spatial demarcation in which the enemy is defined as terrorism.' This war could take place anywhere and has no definite battlefield. Those who are terrorists then, operate in isolation from a national identity.

Technology has also contributed to a lack of spatial/territorial identification in creating "virtual communities" which exhibit a contemptuous disregard of international boundaries and governmental institutions. Some refer to themselves as "netizens" and professed their confidence in "self-organizing systems" and a libertarian ethos that had little need for and little sympathy with governmental institutions (Falk, p. 174).

The Enjoyment of Certain Rights

By being a member of a group and enjoying the benefits of membership those involved are entitled to the protection of their government, protection of the law and to whatever rights their constitution and political system guarantees them.

From the U.S. perspective, one could argue that these rights are not guaranteed through membership. The U.S. Patriot Act of 2001 would complicate the enjoyment of these rights:

The USA Patriot Act of 2001 increases law enforcement's power to conduct surveillance, never-disclosed wiretaps, and secret searches and detail legal immigrants indefinitely, and it authorizes the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to resume spying on U.S. citizens. The bill also authorizes secret immigration trials, unreviewable military tribunals, and the monitoring of attorney-client conversations. Not only does the bill introduce a broadly defined crime of "domestic terrorism," it also allows people to be interned and tried on the basis of secret evidence (Giroux 2002).

Explicitly, this document states that the rights entitled to citizens can be revoked at will and that their protection rights by law, constitution, and by what the system guarantees them is at the mercy of the government.

The Fulfillment of Corresponding Obligations

Obeying the law, paying taxes, respecting the rights of others, military obligation, and to fulfill social obligations.

However, For Ohmae (1995, 1990), there is certainly no reason to strive for any notion of citizenship's rights or obligations, or to substantiate any needs for citizen virtues, given the facts that the state has little, if any, power to regulate exchanges between "trading states" and that pressures for the civil minimum in liberalism have had disastrous results. Therefore, the notion of citizenship without market sponsorship is meaningless (Torres, p. 370).

A Degree of Interest and Involvement in Public Affairs

Dating back to ancient Greeks, there is a tradition that distinguishes between a good person and a good citizen. A good person lives his or her life virtuously and honourably, but without any involvement or interest in public affairs. A good citizen, by contrast, not only lives decently in his or her private life, but is also committed to participation in public life; at the very least to taking an informed interest in public affairs and, ideally, playing an active part in them.

An Acceptance of Basic Societal Values

Trust, cooperation, respect for human rights, non-violence are a few examples.

Citizenship also involves thinking for oneself, while at the same time listening to and respecting viewpoints of other people, in order to become personally engaged with problems and issues that confront one's society (Cogan and Derricott, p. 5).

A more complex, nuanced, and differentiated model of citizenship is a sorely needed-one that includes different styles and trends relating to traditional citizenship, but also is open to regional, transnational, and global identities that give rise to a variety of nonstate citizenship claims (Falk, p.184).

 

References

Bosniak, L. (2001). "Denationalizing Citizenship." In Aleinikoff, A. and Klusmeyer, D., Ed. Citizenship Today: Global Perspectives and Practices . Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Carlson, D. and Dimitriadis, G. Ed. (2003). Promises to Keep: Cultural Studies, Democratic Education, and Public Life. New York: Routledge.

Cogan, J. and Derricott, R. (2000). Citizenship for the 21 st Century: An International Perspective on Education. London: Kogan Page

Falk, R. (2004). Challenging Citizenship: The Declining World Order. New York: Routledge

Foner, E. (1998) The Story of American Freedom . New York: Norton.

Giroux, Henry. (2002) "Democracy, Freedom, and Justice after September 11 th : Rethinking the Role of Educators and the politics of Schooling" Teachers College Record, v. 104 no. 6, p. 1138-62.

Shklar, J. (1991). American Citizenship . Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Torres, C. A. (2002). "Globalization, Education, and Citizenship: Solidarity Versus Markets?" American Educational Research Journa l, v. 39 no. 2, pp. 363-378.

Contributed by Kay Fujiyoshi

Citizenship

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Citizenship can be described as a relationship between an individual and a state in which the individual owes allegiance to the state and in turn is entitled to its protection. In general, full political rights are predicated on citizenship . Citizenship entails obligations, usually including allegiance, payment of taxes, and military service. The concept arose in ancient Greece , where citizenship was granted only to property owners. The Romans initially used it as a privilege to be conferred upon or withheld from conquered peoples, but it was granted to all the empire's free inhabitants in AD 212. The concept disappeared in Europe during the feudal era but was revived in the Renaissance. Citizenship may normally be gained by birth within a certain territory, descent from a parent who is a citizen, or marriage to a citizen (http://www.britannica.com/).

The challenges of citizenship arise from the phenomenon of globalization and the intensity in which it affects the world. The term is a political concept that has been in constant struggle and renegotiation (Shklar, p. 1). Citizenship has been assumed to be a national enterprise and it has been an institution or a set of social practices situated squarely and necessarily within the political community of the nation-state (Bosniak, p. 237). Richard Falk explains that the:

Two principal tendencies that reshape our understanding of citizenship in the globalization period are a multilayered and flexible sense of secondary membership and participation in nonstate political and economic communities of varying scope and a vague but significant association of citizenship and loyalty with entities lacking territorial boundaries and not qualifying for membership in standard international institutions, most notably the UN (Falk, p. 173).

Citizenship is said to be increasingly denationalized, with new forms of citizenship that exceed the nation developing to replace the old. The new forms of citizenship have been described by their exponents in a variety of terms. Some have spoken of the emergence of transnational citizenship or global citizenship (Bosniak, p. 238). The ways in which citizenship is emerging in the era of globalization raises conflicting interests with the traditional notion of citizenship and the predominance of universal personhood over national status undermines the national order of citizenship (Torres, p. 371).

According to Cogan and Derricott (2000), modern political systems successful functioning depends on a conception of citizenship. This conception of citizenship can be constructed through an explicit bill of rights, constitution, or other similar documents, it can be implicitly stated within national traditions or institutions, or it can be a combination of the two. Cogan and Derricott argue that any conception of citizenship contains a sense of the knowledge, skills, values and dispositions that, ideally, citizens should possess and created an outline of the five attributes of citizenship that they admit to being contestable (p. 2-5) in which I use examples from other texts to illustrate these arguments:

A sense of identity

A sense of national identity and patriotism is usually seen as an essential ingredient of citizenship. National citizenship can be seen as obsolete and global cosmopolitan citizenship is argued to cut across national loyalties (Nussbaum, 1996). Even more so, it is argued that the demands of national citizenship should not be denied, but must be combined with a realization that no nation can operate in isolation in today's world, so that citizenship must contain both national and multinational dimensions.

To problematize the notion of national identity and patriotism being key components of citizenship, Richard Falk uses an example of individuals obligated to religious affiliations before their nation, who is freed from duties of obedience to the state of residence or citizenship. This rejection of a nationalist approach to membership in a community, and indirectly to citizenship, also represents a flattening of identity and obligation, but in the direction of religious and civilizational identity, and away from territorially based identity (p. 177). The U.S. war against 'terrorism' is an example of a lack of spatial demarcation in which the enemy is defined as terrorism.' This war could take place anywhere and has no definite battlefield. Those who are terrorists then, operate in isolation from a national identity.

Technology has also contributed to a lack of spatial/territorial identification in creating "virtual communities" which exhibit a contemptuous disregard of international boundaries and governmental institutions. Some refer to themselves as "netizens" and professed their confidence in "self-organizing systems" and a libertarian ethos that had little need for and little sympathy with governmental institutions (Falk, p. 174).

The enjoyment of certain rights

By being a member of a group and enjoying the benefits of membership those involved are entitled to the protection of their government, protection of the law and to whatever rights their constitution and political system guarantees them.

From the U.S. perspective, one could argue that these rights are not guaranteed through membership. The U.S. Patriot Act of 2001 would complicate the enjoyment of these rights:

The USA Patriot Act of 2001 increases law enforcement's power to conduct surveillance, never-disclosed wiretaps, and secret searches and detail legal immigrants indefinitely, and it authorizes the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to resume spying on U.S. citizens. The bill also authorizes secret immigration trials, unreviewable military tribunals, and the monitoring of attorney-client conversations. Not only does the bill introduce a broadly defined crime of "domestic terrorism," it also allows people to be interned and tried on the basis of secret evidence (Giroux 2002).

Explicitly, this document states that the rights entitled to citizens can be revoked at will and that their protection rights by law, constitution, and by what the system guarantees them is at the mercy of the government.

The fulfillment of corresponding obligations

Obeying the law, paying taxes, respecting the rights of others, military obligation, and to fulfill social obligations.

However, For Ohmae (1995, 1990), there is certainly no reason to strive for any notion of citizenship's rights or obligations, or to substantiate any needs for citizen virtues, given the facts that the state has little, if any, power to regulate exchanges between "trading states" and that pressures for the civil minimum in liberalism have had disastrous results. Therefore, the notion of citizenship without market sponsorship is meaningless (Torres, p. 370).

A degree of interest and involvement in public affairs

Dating back to ancient Greeks, there is a tradition that distinguishes between a good person and a good citizen. A good person lives his or her life virtuously and honourably, but without any involvement or interest in public affairs. A good citizen, by contrast, not only lives decently in his or her private life, but is also committed to participation in public life; at the very least to taking an informed interest in public affairs and, ideally, playing an active part in them.

An acceptance of basic societal values

Trust, cooperation, respect for human rights, non-violence are a few examples.

Citizenship also involves thinking for oneself, while at the same time listening to and respecting viewpoints of other people, in order to become personally engaged with problems and issues that confront one's society (Cogan and Derricott, p. 5).

A more complex, nuanced, and differentiated model of citizenship is a sorely needed-one that includes different styles and trends relating to traditional citizenship, but also is open to regional, transnational, and global identities that give rise to a variety of nonstate citizenship claims (Falk, p.184).

References

Bosniak, L. (2001). "Denationalizing Citizenship." In Aleinikoff, A. and Klusmeyer, D., Ed. Citizenship Today: Global Perspectives and Practices . Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Carlson, D. and Dimitriadis, G. Ed. (2003). Promises to Keep: Cultural Studies, Democratic Education, and Public Life. New York: Routledge.

Cogan, J. and Derricott, R. (2000). Citizenship for the 21 st Century: An International Perspective on Education. London: Kogan Page

Falk, R. (2004). Challenging Citizenship: The Declining World Order. New York: Routledge

Foner, E. (1998) The Story of American Freedom . New York: Norton.

Giroux, Henry. (2002) "Democracy, Freedom, and Justice after September 11 th : Rethinking the Role of Educators and the politics of Schooling" Teachers College Record, v. 104 no. 6, p. 1138-62.

Shklar, J. (1991). American Citizenship . Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Torres, C. A. (2002). "Globalization, Education, and Citizenship: Solidarity Versus Markets?" American Educational Research Journa l, v. 39 no. 2, pp. 363-378.

 

Contributed by Kay Fujiyoshi